There is no “one” Indian cuisine or cooking style. Our pharmacist, being originally from Punjab, maintains that their cooks and cuisine is the best. One of my faves is Indo-Chinese; which is a fusion of the two country’s foods and cultures, and my absolute fave is Manchurian anything, like this very nice riff started with some frozen Cauliflower from Trader Joe’s.
This recipe is almost a Manchurian, and I did start with frozen breaded shrimp, but I skipped the whole Manchurain and instead
just used some of my Indian Sweet and Sour Sauce with veggies and my new fave Dan-O’s seasoning (available at your local market).
Note: again, I want to reiterate that nobody is paying me to promote a product, I just happen to really like this seasoning blend.
INGREDIENTS
Indian Sweet and Sour Sauce:
•1 tbsp cornstarch
•2 tbsp water
•1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
•1 cup sugar
•1 cup white vinegar
•1 cup water
•Salt to taste
•1 tsp Cajun Power Spicy Garlic Pepper Sauce – or your fave hot sauce, to taste
•White pepper to taste
•2 tbsp ketchup
Shrimp:
•Olive oil
•1 lb frozen breaded shrimp*
•2 tsp Dan-O’s Seasoning
•3 ribs celery, sliced
•1 red pepper, sliced
•1 jalapeño, halved and sliced
•1 tbsp Indian Sweet and Sour Sauce
*Whole Foods has some excellent, and gluten-free frozen shrimp breaded in rice flour.
Dissolve the cornstarch in two tablespoons of water and 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce and set aside.
Stir sugar together with the vinegar, water, salt, pepper and hot sauce over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved.
Add the cornstarch mixture and continue cooking until bubbly and thick.
Let it simmer for about ten minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in the two tablespoons of ketchup – I use a spicy version imported by a local company.
Set aside to cool and store in a covered jar in the fridge until needed.
I chose to air fry my shrimp, so I arranged them on my air fryer basket and spritzed them with olive oil from a mister.
Note: I do not use canned cooking spray in my air fryer because something in the propellant tends to stick to the basket, and is very hard to scrub off.
Air fry for five to seven minutes at 400º until the shrimp are golden brown and nicely crispity in places.
Toss the celery, red pepper, and jalapeño with the Dan-O’s seasoning – or, really other seasoning you prefer – and sauté in a large skillet with one tablespoon of garlic infused olive oil for about ten minutes, until the veggies are tender and a bit blackened in places.
Stir in the air fried shrimp and the Sweet and Sour Sauce and continue to cook, just until everything is nicely warmed through.
I served ours over rice with chopped scallions and parsley, and no one would’ve thought that it was pretty much a convenience dinner.